James Edward McGreevey born August 6, is an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from until his resignation in He ran for governor again in and was elected by a large margin. During his gubernatorial tenure, McGreeveyβwho was then married to Dina Matos βappointed Israeli national Golan Cipel as Counselor to the Governor, advising on homeland security. In , following his departure from public office, McGreevey published a memoir entitled The Confession.
He served in that capacity until his termination. There he attended St. Joseph Elementary School, and St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. Prior to entering politics, McGreevey was an assistant prosecutor and executive director of the state Parole Board. He was elected to the New Jersey Senate in , simultaneously serving as mayor during the four-year Senate term.
Among McGreevey's accomplishments were auto insurance reform, [ 29 ] restructuring the Division of Motor Vehicles to the Motor Vehicle Commission , signing the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act into law, implementing a stem cell research plan for New Jersey, [ 30 ] heavily lobbying for the state's first domestic partnership law for same-sex couples [ 31 ] and signing such a law in early McGreevey met Golan Cipel in Israel during a trip there in McGreevey brought up Cipel's name six weeks into his administration in a February 14, , interview with The Record ' s editorial board at its offices, saying:.
We will not skimp on security. We actually brought on a security adviser from the Israel Defense Forces, probably the best in the world. McGreevey assisted Cipel in obtaining a townhouse near McGreevey's home. Cipel reportedly stated that he needed to live near the governor because his job involved being on call on a hour basis. According to the Star-Ledger newspaper, McGreevey even accompanied Cipel on a final walk-through of the townhouse, which the real estate agent said she found "odd".
In March , Cipel stepped down from his Homeland Security position and was reassigned to an advisor position regarding government operations.
